It's been about a month since top officials in Guangzhou made their sixth annual swimathon across the Pearl River, all in the name of convincing the public of the government's winning battle against water pollution. Local residents and media are still relishing their favourite 'significant moments' from the event, few of which concern environmental protection.

The central government will spend four trillion yuan (HK$4.7 trillion) in the next 10 years to rebuild outdated water conservancy projects and improve water-use efficiency on the mainland as natural disasters further threaten agricultural output.

Christine Loh Kung-wai's column ('Shifting sands', November 19) highlighted the confusion which has arisen over the boundary of Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park and the status of plots of agricultural land which have recently been sold but which have been under water for a good number of years.

Imagine the worth to Hong Kong of a video showing competitors in a cross-harbour swimming competition. Within a few frames, thoughts of Hong Kong being a place that cared little for its environment would be banished. In their place would be respect for our policies and, perhaps, a desire to holiday or perhaps live or work in our city.

The government is committed to minimising the environmental impact of dredging and reclamation works. That's what it pledged eight years ago after excessive toxic mud was removed during construction of Disneyland at Penny's Bay, resulting in environmental damage that led to hundreds of millions of dollars in clean-up costs and compensation.

An assistant director of the Drainage Services Department checks the growth of vegetation planted on a wall at the Sha Tin sewage treatment plant yesterday, part of an experiment evaluating the ability of vertical greening, or green walls, to ease the heat island effect.

The Arts Ambassadors-in-School Scheme is organised by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. It encourages students to take their passion for the arts beyond school and into the wider community. The ambassadors will take part in a series of arts programmes during the school holidays.